By Betty Berry, January 3, 2012
Q: It was announced last fall that the world population would reach 7 billion. Do any studies show details about these people?
A: Such statistics are tracked and reported by many sources, such as the U.N. Population Division and the Census Bureau.
Reports showed birthrates are not up. Longevity is on the rise, and part of what is happening is a global aging trend. With average life expectancy increasing, it is expected that people 60 or older will outnumber those 15 and younger by 2045.
There are also some sex gaps. There are 100 women 60 and older for every 83 men in that age group. Eighty percent of men 60 and older are married, and 48 percent of older women are. More older women live alone than men.
The fastest-growing portion of the population is the 80-and-older group, which is growing at about 4 percent a year. Women make up 81 percent of the world’s centenarians.
Q: My mother is moving to California from another state. I need to know what steps to take to make sure her Social Security benefits will be delivered properly.
A: You didn’t indicate whether your mother receives her Social Security benefits in check form or by automatic deposit. If she still receives her benefits in check form, change to automatic deposit now. (It will be required in March 2013.)
If she receives her benefits in check form, she must tell Social Security of the new address. Because it will take at least 30 days for the change to take effect, give the post office her change-of-address information so that if a check is mailed to the former address, it can be forwarded to her new location.
To complete an address change for automatically deposited benefits, you must do three things.
First, your mother must open an account at a new financial institution.
Next, arrange to have the benefits deposited in that account by giving Social Security the financial institution’s routing information and her account number. Also provide Social Security with your mother’s new mailing address for other correspondence.
Last, your mother must keep her current account open until the new account has been credited with a monthly deposit. If you close the old account before the change-of-address transaction is completed, there will be nowhere for the automatic deposit to be directed, and it will be returned to Social Security.
Happenings
Tuesday: Solving the Aging Puzzle’s third presentation in the Caregiving Roller Coaster Series — “Who Can Help?” — will be from 4 to 5:30 p.m. at the Senior Concerns Day Care Center, 401 Hodencamp Road, Thousand Oaks. Call 497-0189 for information or reservations.
Jan. 25: Advocacy one-on-one counseling services will be offered from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Moorpark Active Adult Center, 799 Moorpark Ave., Moorpark. Call 517-6261 for details or an appointment.
Jan. 25: “Will You Pass Your Next Driving Test?” seminar will be offered from 1:30 to 3 p.m. at the Simi Valley Senior Center, 3900 Avenida Simi, Simi Valley. Call 583-6363 for reservations.
Betty Berry is a senior advocate for Senior Concerns. The advocates are at the Goebel Senior Adult Center, 1385 E. Janss Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91362; call 495-6250 or email betty@seniorconcerns.org. (Please include your telephone number.) You are invited to submit questions on senior issues.
